Mary Henry (Independent)

Again, I am afraid I can anticipate the reply I will receive. There are approximately 2,000 physiotherapists and I have been told for years by their international body that the term "physical therapist" is internationally interchangeable with "physiotherapist". The two titles are synonymous and Irish physiotherapists would like those titles to be protected together. Over the past ten or 15 years, people with training in physical therapy but not physiotherapy, and who have been known only as "physical therapists", have arrived in Ireland. Nobody is saying that these people do not do good in the field in which they work, which I understand is mainly massage and which many patients seem to find helpful. There is no denigration of these people, therefore, but it is important to recognise they do not have the same training as physiotherapists.

We must ask these physical therapists to bring forward their qualifications so we can ascertain the most suitable title for their profession. It is important that Ireland keeps in line with the practice of various international boards. Physiotherapists and physical therapists are interchangeable internationally because they have the same training. We should try to follow the international standards in this legislation.